Embrace the FWD - BMW aims to sell a million front wheel drive cars per year off one platform shared with Mini

Embrace the FWD - BMW aims to sell a million front wheel drive cars per year off one platform shared with Mini

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Embrace the FWD - BMW aims to sell a million front wheel drive cars per year off one platform shared with Mini

Get used to the new BMW. Remember when BMW mocked front wheel drive and told the world they don't do FWD? Remember when the way the car drove was more important than how many cars they could sell? Well forget all that, money money money! The German Toyota recently announced that they aim to sell over a million cars per year based off a single front wheel drive platform that will be shared with Mini. Apparently having just Mini sell front wheel drives is not good enough when a higher profit margin can be made sticking a BMW badge on the exact same thing.

The Active Tourer Concept car posted recently is a preview of BMW's front wheel drive era. No doubt it will sell and BMW will be lauded for it. However, there is no denying the culture and attitude change. BMW's image has taken a hit and will continue to do so as they continue to piss all over their own history, marketing (Ultimate Sales Machine now), and culture. This is no longer a premium brand with driving dynamics at the forefront. It's all about volume and however you can get it brand philosophy be damned.

The new front wheel drive platform is called UKL1. There will be a mix of all kinds of motors as well as a plug-in hybrid. The platform will be produced at the UK Mini plant so people literally will be buying BMW branded Mini's. The strategy will keep costs down, increase volume for Mini and BMW, and somewhat artificially inflate BMW's fleet MPG numbers. One would think this might at the very least lead to some track focused M models like how Porsche leverages the Cayenne's volume but don't hold your breath. Front wheel drive hybrid BMW's, that is the future. As BMW stated with the new 4-Series, get used to it.